


Bookworm

by typocryptid



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Alternate Universe - College/University, College Student Armin Arlert, College Student Eren Yeager, Delivery Person Eren Yeager, F/F, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, M/M, bookstore owner armin arlert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-12
Updated: 2017-12-15
Packaged: 2019-02-13 23:42:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12995091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/typocryptid/pseuds/typocryptid
Summary: Armin Arlert owns a bookstore called Bibliophilia, and is a busy college sophomore with a love for knowledge.Eren Jaegar is a college student who has a part time job delivering mail for the local post office.Though they go to the same university, they don't run into each other until one fateful day. What happens next?





	1. A Normal Tuesday Night (For Shia Labeouf)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi y'all! Welcome to my first work on AO3! As you may notice, this is a bookstore/university AU for Attack on Titan. This work also takes place in England, so the currency and the metric system will be used. Please enjoy and leave comments after you read. More notes at the end of the chapter.

“Goodbye, have a nice day!” Armin called out, waving. The mother and the little girl smiled as they pushed open the door. Usually at this time, Armin doesn’t have as much work to do. 6:45… close to closing time. Though he technically closes at eight, business starts to slow down.

  
Humming a melody, he started his nightly cleaning, lightly dusting here and there, starting alphabetically by author’s last name. Armin had always loved books. Ever since he was young, reading had been a way to escape reality, and he loved learning new things. The slight jingle of the front door brought him back to Earth as another customer walked in. This time, it was a tall boy with rectangular glasses and spiked up hair that came straight from the nineties. Armin watched as he beelined for the science fiction section. _Of course_ , Armin smiled, continuing his dusting. It’s surprising how much dirt can be tracked on hunter green carpet in the span of a few hours, but Armin didn’t mind. He isn’t the strongest, so before long, he was wiping sweat from under his brow-length bangs. Noticing the tall boy walking to the counter, Armin quickly hurried to the front, nearly tripping on his own feet.

  
“Did you find everything alright?” he chimed at the boy who stood over a foot taller than Armin.

  
“Yeah, uh, can you order more Ray Bradbury?” Armin nodded and jot himself a note to order more. An expansion of the science fiction section was duly needed. Taking the two books, Armin wrapped them in his signature brown parchment paper, stamped the front with his store logo “Bibliophilia,” and handed the books to his customer.

  
“Twelve pounds and 75 pence, please,” he instructed, and the boy pulled out his pocketbook. _Star Wars, hah, good choice_ , Armin thought, glancing at the boy’s wallet. He gladly accepted the money, gave change for 25 pence, and thanked the boy on his way out.

  
The next few hours passed by quickly as Armin continued his dusting. A few college students came in to study but no more customers. He was fine with that. When he first opened his bookstore, he dreamed of his store being a quiet place for the community to enjoy as well as a sanctuary of books. At 8pm, Armin told the remaining student his protocol for staying: they can stay for however long as they like provided they don’t steal the books and take care of their health by drinking water and eating snacks intermittently. The front door is locked from the outside no no one new can enter, but Armin will be there until the last person leaves. He had a fridge of water bottles and snacks for students who came in to study for 50 pence each, and it proved to be a good business deal because more students felt welcome to stay. Besides, Armin had classes to study for as well.

  
He took his seat at the front by the register, sinking into his chair with back support. Studying in his bookstore late at night gave him comfort; since he opened this store, it felt like home to him. He tied his hair back into a ponytail, nudged his glasses up his nose, and got to work.

  
At midnight, the girl left, thanking Armin for his magnanimity. He finished up his moment’s studying, swept up the store once more, and closed up shop. Since his apartment was directly upstairs, he never had to worry about walking home. Tomorrow- or technically today- was Wednesday which meant he had English, Maths, and Biology, aka his busiest day of the week. Class at the university finished at 12pm, meaning he had only half an hour to get to Bibliophilia and open up shop. He enjoys being busy but he had a bad habit of forgetting to eat. Ah, no use worrying about it now, he thought setting out an outfit for the morning. As he collapsed on his bed, he was lulled into the comforts of sleep.


	2. Routine Disruption

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A normal Wednesday for Armin, or so he thinks. In this chapter, he meets a certain brown haired delivery boy, sells a lot of books, has a strange chat with his professor, and is effectively thrown out of his comfort zone.

Armin’s day started at 7am. He took a shower, got dressed, and walked to school, a routine he was used to. His walk was two blocks to the University of Shigansina, and his first class started at 8am. Though it may be boring, Armin’s routine was consistent. He didn’t mind change, but something about waking up at the same time everyday and the few tasks that followed gave him comfort.

Armin, much like his love of reading, also loved school and learning. His first class was English, a small class of twelve. Because he was a sophomore, the curriculum was general education required of undergraduates. As usual, he was the first person there. Armin sat down on a bench and pulled out the book he was currently reading, _A Life Outside the Walls._ It told the story of a man who lived on the outside of humanity, and was subject to a world of terror. It took place in an alternate universe of Earth and all of humanity lived trapped behind a set of three walls. There were also giant creatures called Titans that struck fear in Armin’s heart. Thankfully, that’s not the world he lived in. Minutes later, his professor arrived, unlocking the door without so much as a glance at Armin.

“Morning, Arlert,” came the low monotone voice that gave an aura of authority. He made Armin’s anxiety worse when he had to talk to him, but he had a question. He couldn’t back down now.

“Hi professor! I, um, had a question about the homework you assigned-,” Armin started.

“My office hours are Tuesdays at 3pm and Thursdays at 8am,” he interrupted.

“R-right... ,” he tried again. “But I work during your office hours. If you could please answer my question, I would be grateful.” Professor Streid looked up finally, his dull brown eyes analyzing Armin. He sighed.

“Alright, what do you need? I haven’t had coffee yet this morning,” he relented. He stood at his desk, his coffee machine whirring into action.

“Thank you, sir,” Armin smiled, taking out his written analysis of _A Midsummer Night’s Dream_. “Last class, you said Puck is what you would consider an antagonist, but I disagree. In these pages, he is more of the protagonist and actually seems to be leading the story. To be fair, he is split between the two roles and does not necessarily fit in either. That's my opinion, so my theme is different than the example you gave the class.” Streid nodded, engrossed in Armin’s explanation. He continued, talking about the juxtaposition Puck posed. 

“That is quite the solid analysis, Arlert. I like that your opinion differs from mine. What's more, I appreciate even more how you found evidence to support your opinion. You should consider doing a research project,” the professor said.

“Thank you, sir, but…,” he started. “I’m not sure I have the time.”

“Indeed, but I have never seen you with a problem you couldn’t solve, huh?” Streid encouraged, sipping his coffee. Armin took his seat, the professor’s words swimming through his head. _Could I pull off doing a research report?_ He asked himself. He was busy with homework and his store, but a research report would be a good experience. 

 

* * *

 

His classes after that flew by and Armin found himself surprised at how quickly the day went by. Back at the store, he opened up the shop and put on a light jazzy tune to add to the mood. Sitting at his desk, he sighed and pulled out his books to study.

Armin jerked suddenly from his studies when he heard a loud crash coming from the front of his shop. _What was that?_ He thought as he shot up from his seat. Outside the door was a young man holding a big box. Many other boxes were strewn across the square due to the crash. He had a grimace spread across his face and Armin could tell he was beginning to panic.

“Hi, do you need help?” Armin said, opening the door. “Are you okay?” The man looked up at Armin; he looked like he was in shock.  _Nice going, Armin, you mixed up your words again,_ he thought to himself. The delivery man's eyes displayed a state of turmoil. Without being asked, Armin picked up a box and read the receiving address: Bibliophilia, Armin Arlert.

“Yeah… but this is for my job. You don’t need to help me,” the man replied after a moment’s hesitation. Armin nodded thoughtfully. He opened his door and stuck a door stopper underneath as the man gathered a few of the packages into his arms and walked in.

“You can put them next to the desk there,” Armin instructed, pointing to the register where all his study materials were. The man nodded and set down the packages he was holding. He stood up straight, ran his hand through his messy brown hair and went out to retrieve the last of the packages. Once he finished, Armin stuck out his hand.

“Armin Arlert,” he said. “And you are…?” The delivery man took his hand and shook it firmly.

“Eren Jaegar. I work for St. Maria Post,” the man replied. Armin nodded and smiled warmly.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance.” Eren grinned and scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

“Sorry for dropping your packages,” Eren said. “I’ve got to go. See you!” and out he ran. _Right_ , Armin thought, _these are the new shipment of books I ordered_. He opened the boxes to reveal copies of the new George R. R. Martin novels, Stephen King thrillers, and J. K. Rowling’s recently published adult novel. He stacked the books on his pushcart.

The Game of Thrones books have their own bookcase in the fantasy section. Pretty soon he’ll need an entire new bookcase for George R. R. Martin. Several cases down the fantasy section was the J. K. Rowling collection, which he stacked _A Casual Vacancy_ next to the _Harry Potter_ ’s. Stephen King belonged in the thriller section, where his works resided in several bookcases.

The store was busy today; Most of the tables were filled with students and readers, and several people were browsing. Armin took his seat behind the register and continued to work on schoolwork, excited knowing today was a good business day. Sharing his love for books with people in the community always brightened his day, and he loved giving reading recommendations.

By the time 7pm came around, an elderly couple bought four classics and the newest Game of Thrones, a schoolboy bought a copy of _Lord of the Flies_ for English class (to which Armin responded with how much he enjoyed reading it. “Oh, good, hopefully my teacher won’t ruin it with religious references this time,” the boy responded. He smiled and rolled his eyes. Armin recommended he read the book before the class even started analyzing), a group of college students bought ten copies of _It_ by Stephen King and one copy of a witchcraft instruction manual, three middle school aged girls bought twelve bookmarks, three copies of a _Warriors_ book and three sushi erasers, and a young lesbian couple bought _A Life Outside the Walls_ upon his recommendation. By closing, three college students were left. Armin reminded the three of protocol and resumed his studies.

At 9:30, Armin heard a soft knock on the front door. Looking up, he was surprised to see the delivery man from before. Armin gave Eren a questioning look, and unlocked the door, letting him in.

“Hi, I just got off work,” Eren said as Armin welcomed him inside. _What is he doing here?_ Armin wondered, a befuddled expression displayed on his face.

“You came in at a good time. I was about to take my break from studying,” Armin smiled. Eren looked up at Armin; he watched as Eren’s eyebrows went up in surprise and his mouth opened slightly.

“You’re a student?” Armin nodded. “Me too, but… I moved here recently, so I’m slowly getting used to it.”

“What school?”

“University of Shigansina, down the road. I’m a physics major.” Now it was Armin’s turn to be surprised. Eren didn’t seem like a science major. “The math part comes easy to me so it makes the most sense in my brain.”

“No wonder I've never seen you around! I’m double majoring in English and Zoology, also at University of Shigansina.”

“Double major? Are you crazy?” Eren exclaimed loudly, causing Armin to wince and shushed him.

“I have plenty of time for my homework and I enjoy the subjects I take,” Armin explained.

“Well, whatever, smarty-pants,” Eren shrugged, grinning. An awkward pause rose between them.

“Want something to drink?” Armin asked, getting up.

“Yes please, water,” came the response, so Armin made waters for both of them. Eren said his thanks, and they sat in peaceful silence for a few minutes, sipping their waters.

“I should get going. My sis is going to wonder where I went,” Eren said, getting up to leave. “Thanks for having me, Armin.” His eyes glinted warmly.

“You’re welcome anytime,” Armin replied. As Eren left, Armin reflected on the day he had. So much had happened, he could hardly believe it. Soon after, the last student left and Armin finished locking up. He went up to his apartment and sank into well needed sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave kudos or comments, I read and cherish every single one I get. This chapter is a bit longer than the first chapter, with 1500 words, but I might be able to make 2000 words happen for the third chapter! Stay tuned because my posting schedule is really irregular but I aim to at least post a chapter once a week :) Next update is planned for December 23rd, 2017!

**Author's Note:**

> “Magnanimity” means the fact or condition of being generous, or giving without expecting anything in return. I would have picked a simpler word that wasn’t an atrocity to anyone’s vocabulary but I was hyperfixating on the definition for a half hour that it felt pointless to not include it.  
> Also, I am not sure how often I will be updating this story, but I plan on making this at least fifteen chapters, so leave a comment or a kudos if you would like to read more in the future. Currently, I am on a ROLL with writing, so I’m thinking the next chapter will be up in a week, so plan on an update soon. Again, please leave comments and feedback! I would like to improve my writing, and it always makes me happy to read what others think.


End file.
